Dear all,

I am in a situation so desperate that I am begging for your help. My I-485 is being processed and I received a notice for interview in a month. I don't know why I was selected for interview.

I am afraid it may be related to one thing happened to me 10 years ago, when I was caught shoplifting. Police involved, I was arrested, finger printed. Then I found a lawyer who went to the court with me and helped minimize the charge to township ordinance after I paid $500 fine to the shop. My lawyer told me this won't leave a criminal record to me (i.e. no conviction, it will be treated like a traffic violation).

When I submitted my green card application, I didn't say I was arrested before. But I feel that USCIS may have found my finger print in record 10 years ago.

On a separate paper sent with the interview notice, it says: "If you have ever been arrested or detained by any law enforcement officer for any reason, and no charges were filed, bring an original official statement by the arresting agency or applicable court order confirming that no charges were filed". To my deepest frustration, I have no idea where to get such a statement or court record.

Would anybody who has experience please advise me how to deal with this? Does the arrest query paper always accompany the interview notice? How to get the court record? and What should I tell the interview officer about the arrest? I'm scared and terrified...

Thank you so much for your kindness.

Best,